


The Boys Are Back

by Moonlight22oa



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Bart Allen-centric, Bart continues to confuse everyone with his knowledge of the future that he won't share, Crack Treated Seriously, Family Feels, Fluff, Gen, Hugs, Jason Todd is Red Hood, They knew each other in the future, a bit of, as a treat, batcest shippers dni, but only semi crack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:21:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27724094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonlight22oa/pseuds/Moonlight22oa
Summary: Forty or so years in the future, Bart Allen and Jason Todd meet. Now, forty years or so in the past, they meet again.
Relationships: Bart Allen & Jason Todd, Dick Grayson & Jason Todd, Tim Drake & Jason Todd
Comments: 21
Kudos: 251





	The Boys Are Back

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this all in one day and i am not complaining. I have four separate docs open but i went "bart & jason yj universe bonding" and every bone in my body went YES

Bart didn’t  _ mean  _ to overhear Robin and Nightwing talking at the mountain, it kinda just… happened.

He had heard the words “Red Hood” and stopped in his tracks, suddenly intrigued.

The Red Hood of his future was Jason Todd, the resurrected second son of batman and Robin II. Bart was almost 99.93% sure that no one else had held the title—other than the Joker—so it  _ should _ be Jason, right?

But, the conversation Dick and Tim were having didn’t seem friendly. It seemed like they were talking about a new threat. 

Furrowing his brows, Bart tried to remember what Jay had told him about his return.

_ “I really wasn’t happy back then. I thought that it was all Batman’s fault that I died and I was bitter that he didn’t kill the Joker,” Jason has narrated one night at their hideout, away from prying eyes and attacking Reach.  _

_ “It was a rough time. I tried to kill Tim a few times. I almost died again. I became a crime lord. You really didn’t wanna be near me if you crossed the lines I laid out.” _

He never told Bart what those lines were, no matter how much he asked.

So, Jason was in his assassin days. He hadn’t made an attempt on Tim’s life yet, that was good. That was the point of no return. It would take  _ forever _ to mend that relationship if it had already happened. 

Bart didn’t know what to do. He loved Jason like an older brother; he wanted to help him. But… Batman had rules. He couldn’t go to Gotham. It was fine. He’d just stay there until an opportunity arose.

_ (“What was your family like?” Bart had asked one night, back when it was just the two of them hiding wherever they could and trying to scrounge up enough food for Bart’s metabolism not to eat him alive. _

_ Jason had run a hand through Bart’s hair and let out a nostalgic sigh. “I wish I got to know them better. I heard they got really big a few years before the Reach killed them. Maybe I could’ve been a big brother for them too.”) _

It happens on a mission. All the good stuff happens on missions. Like finding the resistance hideout— _ no, Bart. Don’t think about that _ .

It was a simple recon assignment, which meant there’d probably be explosions later. Nothing is ever covert with the team.

Robin had just finished giving them the plan, a simple in and out. It was just him, Robin and Blue Beetle, seeing as they were the least likely to cause any explosions. (He had a  _ really _ bad reaction to an unexpected explosion one time. It looked too much like when the Reach had bombed the resistance HQ, effectively killing off half of them.)

_ ‘Run in, find a hiding spot, wait there for further instruction’ _ Robin had said. Okay. He could do that. Unlike what some people think, Bart actually  _ can _ sit still. You can’t move too much in the future, moving less means hiding better from the Reach

So, he waited. 

Sadly, that didn’t last long. He was sitting there for what could’ve been five minutes or five hours when he heard gunshots.

Gunshots were a good thing in the future. It meant there were people there. Normally good people. The Reach didn’t use regular bullets and guns, they used their plasma cannons and other alien tech.  _ (Jason carried guns) _

But in the past, gunshots weren’t good. The people wielding them were usually bad guys and wanted them dead. Bart ducked under the crates he was hiding behind and waited it out.

“Well, looks like this party’s over, huh fellas?”

That voice. Bart  _ knew _ that voice. That was the voice that yelled at him to run when the Reach got close. The voice that told him stories about his history and made sure he wasn’t cold in the winter. That was  _ Jason’s _ voice.

At the same time, it  _ wasn’t _ Jason’s voice. It sounded similar, hidden by a familiar voice modulator like it was when they left their latest hideout and had to find a new place to stay, but also not  _ Jason  _ himself. It was filled with a hint of rage that Bart never heard from his older counterpart. 

_ “Oh fuck, it’s Red Hood. Impulse what’s your status?”  _ Robin’s voice filtered through his comm. 

“I’m good,” He whispered, “I’m hidden and he’s just after the traffickers. Clear the rest of the building first.” 

There were more gunshots and Bart heard bodies hitting the floor, presumably killed. 

He peeked over the side to check it out but was violently pulled out by a large glove-covered hand. 

“The fuck are  _ you _ doing here, kid?” Red Hood said, dropping Bart in front of him. 

“Uhhh…. Hi?” He said eloquently. 

Red Hood growled, silently demanding Bart to talk before he got shot. 

(Bart knew Jason doesn’t hurt kids, but he went along to humor him.)

“I’m Impulse! Hello! We’re here for recon on these guys but I guess we don’t need to do that now that you went all  _ pew pew pew  _ and killed them all. I’m just super nervous because like  _ you’reRedHoodandRedHoodissuperawesomeandohgoshIcan’tbeleiveyou’rehere-”  _ He was cut off from his nervous rambling by Jason slapping a hand over his mouth. 

He sighed deeply, sounding like an exasperated big brother, “I hate speed talk so much. Hey, kid, talk slowly.” 

Bart nodded frantically and Hood took his hand off his mouth and gestured for him to talk again. “I’m from the future!” He blurted. 

Jason was probably raising an eyebrow behind the helmet. “The future.” 

“The future!” 

“And this has to do with me how?” Jason drawled. 

“Because I knew you, Jason!” 

  
  
  


That seemed to have taken him by surprise as he stumbled back a step like Bart had actually hit him. 

“ _ God _ , kid. You can’t just drop that on someone.” He glared. 

Bart shrugged, “I mean, what were you expecting.” 

“Honestly no idea.” 

“Understandable, have a nice day.”

(Tim was teaching him meme culture because he realised how behind Bart was)

Jason snorted and sat down next to him. “Aren’t your friends gonna come for you?” 

“In about twenty minutes.” Bart cuddled close to Jason, who, surprisingly, threw an arm over his shoulder. “I told them I’m not in much danger so Blue and Rob are gonna take their time.” 

“Oh yeah, the  _ replacement _ .” Jason spat. 

He punched Jay in the shoulder lightly, “One of the things you told me in the future is that you regret not making amends with your family. And also trying to kill Rob. Don’t even think about it.”

“You’re lucky you’re a cute kid.” Jason grumbled. 

“By the way,” He started, “I’m Bart. Thought you should know since I know your name.” 

“Bart’s a stupid name.” 

“Hey!” Bart gasped in mock offence, “I’m named after my grandfather! Don’t diss on the names of dead guys!” 

“Who’s your grandfather?” Jason asked curiously. 

“The Flash!” 

Bart wondered what Jason’s thought process was during this entire conversation, because it seems like he short circuited when Bart said that. Of course, Bart knew Jason had met Barry—he was the one who told him countless stories after all—so it was probably really freaky. 

Jason let out a shaky breath that sounded a bit like a laugh. “Yeah, sure. Why not.”

It was surprisingly comfortable to cuddle with a pit-crazy murderer on the hard floor of a warehouse; and also surprisingly familiar. Yeah, Bart should definitely see a therapist at some point, he had a  _ lot _ of problems that needed sorting. 

“You should tell your family,” Bart whispered after a few minutes of silence, “Tell them that you’re alive.” 

“And why the fuck would I do that, kid?” He demanded. 

Bart looked him right in the eye—helmet eye holes,  _ same thing _ —and told him, “Because they love you and they miss you. I  _ know _ they do.” 

“Can’t exactly argue with the kid from the future, can I?” He laughed bitterly. 

Bart’s comm buzzed with an incoming transmission. He switched it on, hearing Robin’s voice coming through. 

_ “Impulse what’s your status? We can’t find Red Hood anywhere.”  _

Bart winked and Jason and chirped, “He’s with me! I haven’t left the room.” 

_ “He's a  _ dangerous murderer _ Impulse.” _

“Nah, it’s just Red Hood. He’s a great guy, not his fault he’s got some crazy going on up there.” 

Internally, Bart was filled with unbridled glee. Messing with people with his future knowledge is the best thing in the world and he’ll never not use that to his advantage. 

Externally, he kept up his mask of indifference so only Jason, by looking in his eyes, could see how happy he was. 

_ “Bart.”  _ Tim sounded so exasperated it was honestly hard to keep from laughing. 

“No names on the field!” He sang. 

Tim sighed again,  _ “We’re coming, stay where you are.”  _

The connection cut off and Bart started laughing hysterically, Jason joining him with a few snickers. 

“So, you wanna do a reveal?” Bart asked once the laughing died down, “I can film?” 

“Fuck yeah.” 

  
  


Bart and Jason were still cuddling on the floor when Tim and Jaime arrived. The looks on their faces were  _ priceless _ . 

“Hey guys!” Bart grinned. 

A large sonic cannon emerged from Jaime’s armour, he quickly swatted it away and muttered a few words to the scarab before looking back at Bart. “Bart, what the fuck.”

“Can you  _ please _ explain.” Tim begged.

Bart untangled himself and pulled Hood up to his full height. “This is Red Hood, he’s a really nice guy in my future. I talked to him and now he doesn’t want to kill us.” 

“Good for you. Bring him with us. We’re going back to base.” Tim looked so tired that Bart snickered a little. 

“Let’s go!” He pulled Hood along and skipped back to where the Bioship was camouflaged. 

The ride was tense from Tim and Jaime’s side, Bart was in a happy mood and his enthusiasm caused the Lazarus rage to dissipate and left Jason in a pretty all-right state. 

Tim tried to grill him for answers but the only thing he got from Bart was a cryptic _ ”I’ll tell you with everyone else” _ .

Finally— _ finally _ —they landed inside the mountain hangar. Tim made Red Hood get rid of his frankly ridiculous amount of weapons before he would be let into the main mountain area and then they were off. 

Nobody ran into them as they made their way to the briefing room, thank god. Bart had discreetly turned on the filming device in his goggles, he didn’t want to miss a  _ second _ of this. 

“Robin, Blue Beetle, Impulse, mission report.” Nightwing said without looking up from his tablet as they walked into the room. 

Everyone else was staring at them with shock and horror. It was times like this Bart loved his photographic memory, he  _ never _ wanted to forget their faces. 

Nightwing finally noticed the tension in the room and glanced towards them, visibly doing a double take. 

“Can I get an explanation?” He asked, barely masked fear in his voice. 

Jaime pushed Bart forward, he glared at him but started talking. 

“So, uh, I was hiding and listening to the men we were after when I heard gunshots  _ whichistotallynotcrash _ then I heard Red Hood’s voice which  _ is _ crash because you see I knew him in my time and he was a really great guy who got taken advantage of by a lot of people so I talked to him and now he’s here.” 

He got blank looks from everyone as they tried to decipher what he had said. Bart wasn’t talking  _ super _ fast, but it still was a bit faster than they could process. 

“Bart you can’t just-” Nightwing started but was cut off by Hood. 

“Nah, he did the right thing, Dick,” He ignored all of the gasps and frantic looks shot between team members, “I probably would’ve still been hell bent on revenge if the kid didn't talk to me.” 

“How do you know my name?” Dick questioned sternly. 

Bart was vibrating in place as Jason reached up and clicked the mechanisms that locked his helmet in place and pulled it off. 

He had a huge shit eating grin on his face as Dick’s jaw dropped. 

_ “Jason??” _

Everybody who didn’t place who he was gasped, eyes wide, as they remembered the memorial in the grotto. A memorial for a dead Robin. 

_ “How??” _ Dick choked. 

Jason shrugged, “No clue, I woke up in my coffin and dug my way out.” 

“You  _ woke up in- _ ” He cut himself off and ran to Jason, pulling him into a tight hug. Everyone pretended not to hear the sobs coming from their leader as he embraced the brother he thought to be long dead. 

Bart took the time to see everyone else’s reactions. Tim was pale, the lenses of his mask indicating wide eyes. He kept clenching and unclenching his hands like he didn’t know what to do with them. Jaime, Cassie and L’gann were confused; understandable since they never met the second Robin. Gar seemed to have tears in his eyes and was clutching M’ganns hand with vigour. The general consensus was shock and confusion. 

“Bart, what-?” Tim stuttered. “Did you know?”

Bart smiled sheepishly, “I mean, yeah. Future Jason practically  _ raised _ me. I knew he was coming back but he was  _ really _ vague on the dates so I didn’t exactly know  _ when _ . Just that it was during the five year period between the Reach landing on Earth and the Reach taking over Earth fully.”

Tim nodded slowly, seemingly accepting his answer as enough. He approached Jason, still wrapped in Dick’s hug, and smiled awkwardly. 

“Hi, I’m Tim.” 

Jason regarded him for a few seconds then gave him a grin, “Hey, kid.”

“I’ve got something to tell you, but not here. Later.” Tim gave him a solemn look that made Bart want to laugh.

“Uh, okay?” Jason asked, a sort of confused tone to his voice.

“Tim! Come on!” Nightwing called and pulled Jason towards the Zeta. “We’re going to the cave!” 

“We’re going  _ where _ -?” Jason spluttered, but he didn’t protest as they pulled him away.

The team watched incredulously as the BatFam™ left the room, leaving them in silence. 

“Well, that was fun. I’m gonna go grab a snack now, I’m  _ famished _ .” 

Bart zoomed out of the room before anyone could prest, cackling evilly as he sped away. 

_ Totally worth it.  _

**Author's Note:**

> this is such a stupid friendship. where did it even come from. why did i come up with this. why do i want more. 
> 
> i am going to carve this niche single handedly if i have to. 
> 
> thanks for reading! kudos if you enjoyed <3 <3 <3


End file.
